Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced the addition of the 128GB Echo SE backup drive to the popular Echo line of portable backup solutions. Designed to protect valuable data on netbook and notebook computers, the Echo SE drive now offers up to 128GB of storage, allowing users to automatically back up more essential files - anytime, anywhere. Once backup is complete, the Echo SE drive easily slips into a pocket or bag for portability with the knowledge that critical files are backed up if a laptop is lost or stolen. More than 15 percent shorter than other 128GB backup drives, the high-performance Echo SE provides a way to easily backup data, with the reduced risk of accidental in-drive damage.

High-performance Echo SE is an ultra-portable drive that easily plugs into a computer's USB port to perform automatic backup of files, at read speeds up to 28 MB/s and write speeds up to 10 MB/s. The drive is interoperable between Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, as well as Mac OS X operating systems, allowing data to be seamlessly accessible whether using a PC or Mac computer. The Echo SE backup drive is available in capacities of 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB.

"When it comes to backup solutions, a higher capacity means larger amounts of data can be easily and conveniently protected against loss," said Jyh Chau, senior product marketing manager, Lexar Media. "We are pleased to announce the addition of the 128GB drive to the Echo SE line. With its automatic, customizable software capabilities, consumers living a mobile lifestyle can now back up a large number of files on a single drive."

The 128 GB Echo SE drive is available through online retailers Amazon.com, Newegg.com, Buy.com, Insight.com, PCconnection.com and Zones.com, as well as on Lexar.com.

The Echo SE drive includes versatile, built-in backup software developed by Dmailer for Lexar. Key features include targeted file backup, which stores only specified files and reduces wasted disk space, and file versioning, which backs up a history of files and allows the retrieval of previous versions. The software also offers the ability to create multiple backup plans for multiple computers on one drive. Additionally, the software offers optional 128-bit AES encryption, enabling protection in the event of drive loss.

The Echo backup drive product line also includes the plug-and-stay, low-profile Echo ZE, one of the smallest USB drives in the world at 20.1 by 15.1 millimeters. The Echo ZE is available in capacities of 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB.

btarunr said:The drive is interoperable between Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, as well as Mac OS X operating systems, allowing data to be seamlessly accessible whether using a PC or Mac computer.

Kantastic said:They aren't meant to be used to hot-swap 128GB files between computers but rather have enough capacity to hold a lot of data so all of it is conveniently accessible.

You just can't ever assume that. I also had 2GB MP3 player. It was fast enough for single MP3 files, few days ago i wanted to copy 1,5GB of music at once on it before i went on holidays. It took 10 minutes to copy just a fraction of MP3's and it would have required another 30 minutes! to copy the rest. 40 minutes total and i was leaving in 15 minutes. It's an instant FAIL. So i left with stuff that managed to get copied in 15 minutes.

In this case, buying a 1,8" or 2,5" mini HDD's just makes more sense. Maybe they aren't as durable as NAND memory, but you get guaranteed ~30MB/s transfer rate in both directions and larger capacities (above 120GB). For lower price probably.
I always warned cutomers who were buying larger drives to pay a bit extra and get faster ones. The speed has to go with the capacity. The larger the drive, the faster it should be.
So it can work well in both, single file conditions or when you want to transfer large amounts of data at once. If USB drive cannot handle both scenarios, i just can't recommend it.